Strung
by zzcocomuffinzz
Summary: They were invisible but she could feel them. Strings. They pulled at her limbs, contorting her body, controlling her actions and she couldn't do anything but think that the one pulling her strings was the man standing next to her.
1. Still Waters

**PUPPET** (n): A person, party, or state under the control of another person, group, or power.

**1. Still Waters**

* * *

Konoha, part of a region that is known as the Fire Country because of a moment in history that Sakura couldn't recall off the top of her head, was known for its sweltering heat. July was the worst month of the summer, where the air was muggy, dense like butter and made it difficult to breathe. It was almost as if Mother Nature wanted to asphyxiate the entire population of Konohagakure. July was the month where everyone suffered from humidity all hours of the day, constant sun beaming relentlessly on everyone's backs due to cloudless days and what made these days worse was that the village was in the middle of a drought. Frankly, despite everything sucking to the upmost degree of suckage, Sakura hated nothing more than the sweat that poured out of places that she'd rather not name.

There were times during the month when the heat became so unbearable the radio broadcasters, television newscasters, and the Hokage herself would advise villagers to stay indoors. Stores closed, school was canceled, and Sakura _still_ had to work. Why? Because—and these were words from the Hokage, her mentor, boss, guardian and everything else in between—she need to take care of the poor souls that would get heatstroke or other horrible ailments while they basked in the sun—possibly a third degree burn to their eyes from looking up at the sun?

One, if there is an advisory to stay indoors for the day, why was the hypothetical, pompous person doing outside in the first place? Two, what if Sakura had heatstroke or gained a third degree burn when walking to work? No one would be out to help her, and if there was anyone who did help her, there's potential they'll melt! This village conspired against her….

Main Street felt deserted as Sakura trudged forward, hurrying to the hospital. However, each step felt like she was dragging her feet through thick mud. By the time Sakura reached the hospital, dark sweat stains foiled her beige uniform, but god did that AC feel great….

"Good morning, Sakura!" the receptionist—Sakura could never remember her name because it was so elaborate and foreign…ish, or maybe it was just Sakura and her inability to remember names—greeted with such cheerfulness that Sakura momentarily forgot the glorious sun decided to defecate hell on the village. She had to be as miserable as Sakura; she's just a better actress.

With a smile, Sakura nodded at the receptionist who smiled back and continued to file through patients' records. Trudging down the hall, Sakura rolled her her sleeves up to mid bicep and tied her lengthy, pink hair into a bun. Everyone she walked past seemed to be modifying their uniforms for maximum coolness as well.

"You're finally here!" Shizune huffed as she rushed to catch up to Sakura, out of breath and spewing more sweat than the fountain in front of the hospital emitted water. Her coworker handed her files and a clipboard with a list of men and women along with times. "You have physicals today."

Sakura scanned the list for anyone she knew. She even flipped the paper on its back. "Kakashi's name isn't hidden on this paper is it?"

Shizune looked down at the clipboard briefly. "No, at least I don't think so. He never comes anyway, so why worry?"

"The last time he decided to come, _I _was the one to give him his physical. Have you ever had that awkward moment when you see your ex-sensei with his pants down?"

"No."

"Keep it that way."

Shizune merely smiled and preceded to hand Sakura a pen for the forms. "Oh and Naruto is waiting in our office. Apparently, he has news to tell you."

"Oh, yeah?" Sakura raised a brow. "Did he tell you what kind of news?'

"Sorry, no idea but I sent him to your office about ten minutes ago. I told him you'd be there shortly."

"Thank you." Sakura bowed her head and dismissed herself, hustling towards her office while trying to organize the newly obtained information clipped to her clipboard. As she marched down the hall, she unbuttoned the top two buttons of her blouse.

Sakura used her elbow to turn the door knob as she shuffled the paper into a neat stack using her mouth and somewhat free hand. "Hey, Sakura," her usual rambunctious friend welcomed as Sakura squeezed into her office and kicked the door shut with more aggression than needed.

"This heat is going to be the death of me. Do you mind if I…?" Sakura pointed to her blouse and gave Naruto a questioning look. Naruto grinned and waved her off just as Sakura practically ripped her blouse off and flopped into a chair in just her white camisole and uniform skirt. "It's so hot." That's when she noticed Naruto sat there with his jacket open, showing his flawless skin and slightly ripped abs.

"Why are you awake at eight—um, you look like crap." Naruto rolled his eyes and spun her swivel chair in several circles. "You're making me dizzy," Sakura scoffed. "Are you doing all right?" He suddenly stopped and looked at her with his hitae-ate hanging over the top of his eyes. Oceanic blues peeked from underneath. He looked like he spent a full night awake.

"I've been thinking for a while now…." _Oh, dear Lord_, Sakura thought, bracing herself for some idiotic misfortune Naruto brought upon himself. Quickly, she raced through her brain for past lectures she gave him that could fit this pending news. "Hinata is really cute, huh?"

Huh? Sakura blinked once, twice, three times. "Eh?"

"You sound confused."

"Where on Earth did you get that idea?" Sakura rolled her eyes. "Are you telling me you're gonna ask her out or what?" Sakura leaned forward and rested a cheek on a propped hand. "You'd make Hinata incredibly happy," she mumbled, thinking back to those years Hinata waited for Naruto to say the words that just came out of his mouth.

"I don't know how," Naruto sighed, tipped his chair back and raised his arms above his head, wincing as he stretched. "Oh, now I remember why I came here. I just came back from a mission; can you look at my shoulder? Kakashi thinks I dislocated it during a fight with Cloud."

Naruto stood up and slipped his jacket off. Sakura frowned at the sight of his unblemished skin. Despite the number of missions he's gone on, the number of attacks that pierced his skin and _through_ him, the demon inside him always healed him, leaving absolutely nothing. If only she had that ability then maybe she wouldn't scare civilian men off with the look of the many faint scars plaguing her skin but that ability wasn't worth sealing a demon inside her just for the luxury of having pretty skin.

"You got into a fight with Cloud?" Sakura inquired, frowning as she probed her friend's shoulder with a finger. "They're supposed to be our allies."

Naruto shrugged his left shoulder. "They went rogue I guess. They're in the bingo book and the Raikage even sent Grandma a picture of the two."

"Right," Sakura hummed. "Does it hurt to move it?"

"I don't want to move it."

Sakura sighed and stepped back from Naruto. How was she going to pop this sucker into place?

Oh…

"Naruto," Sakura whispered, putting her hands into place. "Look, they're opening another ramen shop!"

"What—AHHH!"

Sakura stepped back and admired her handy work. Naruto wasn't all that appreciated since he sniffed and cried about it—he'd get over it in a few hours. "I'll just put you in a sling and I'm sure the Kyuubi will gladly do the rest."

"Shit, thanks I guess." He winced and wiped the tears of pain from his eyes. "I really wish you were there. It hasn't been the same since Tsunade put you on lock down."

"Naruto…"

"Haruno Sakura, Haruno Sakura, please report to Room 100. You are needed immediately," the intercom blared.

"Take it easy, Naruto. I'll see you later." With that, Sakura grabbed her discarded blouse and left the room.

"I'll talk to Lady Tsunade about letting you go on the next mission!"

Sakura spun around on her heel and yelled, "Naruto, you won't be on any missions until that shoulder heals! Do you understand me?" The door closed on her before Sakura could finish and Naruto probably bounced out the open window as soon as she turned to yell at him.

Sakura prayed for an assignment to a new village, but she knew those wouldn't come any time soon. Because majority of the nations were at peace, villages didn't feud and war wasn't brewing along the horizon to pump up her and her fellow shinobi—Sakura never wanted war but she really missed action….

Nowadays A-ranked missions consisted of helping old people cross a busy road or protect someone crossing a sketchy bridge, so Tsunade kept Sakura at the hospital on endless shifts just to keep Sakura busy and keep her medical skills top notch. On a daily basis, Sakura performed physicals. Sometimes people privileged her with surgery, maybe a handful of exploded appendixes, a few torn ligaments, and busted ACLs, which were usual for a shinobi.

Sakura dreamed to be on the field with her old team again. Sakura just turned sixteen when Team Seven reunited with Sai as a replacement for Sasuke, and it definitely took a while to accept Sai's Sasuke-resembling looks and his astonishing way with words. After all formalities and threats flew out the window and the cards were laid on the table, they've been a great team until Tsunade decided to put Sakura under village arrest until trouble stirs.

Working at the hospital wasn't bad. Sakura didn't resent it but running, jumping and flying through the trees seemed better than treating a bunch of whining people. Missions were becoming amusing considering that Kakashi was a year shy from thirty and it seemed like women weren't the only beings that go through menopause…. It was great watching Naruto constantly poking fun at their sensei's age. It was even funnier watching Kakashi avenge his age with a prank while Naruto slept. Nothing was better than spending time with her boys and a menopausal grandpa.

* * *

A worried nurse paced in front of Room 100, fiddling with her chipped nail polish and mumbling absurdities. "Hi," Sakura greeted brightly with a smile because a blast of cold air gusted onto Sakura's sweaty face. "What can I do?"

"Uh," she sputtered, nervously glancing at the door, "well, there's a young boy in there with a, uh, broken arm."

"That's why I'm here," Sakura sighed and stepped around the anxious nurse who followed her into the room. "What's his name," the rosette whispered as she eyed the pale boy on the examination table. The nurse stepped back and pressed herself against the door as if Sakura was going to pounce on her.

"Ryoichi, ma'am, five-years-old," she whispered back.

The boy's head snapped up and glared at the two women crouched in the corner. Sakura waved. "Hi," she beamed, grinning at the young child, but he returned the smile with a cold glower, causing Sakura's eyebrow to twitch in frustration. He was going to be one of those kids, huh?

The five-year-old sat on the examination table, small legs kicking back and forth as he waited for Sakura to make the first move. His charcoal eyes glared at the limp arm that rested in his lap—as if glaring at it would make it better. Sakura only wished it worked that way. He was tall for his age and his spiked hair probably made up for most of his height. Sakura noticed he was bare foot with dirt caked to the soles of his feet. On the ground, there was a mound of dirt as he swished his feet back and forth in the air.

"So, I hear that you broke your arm. How exactly did you do that?"

"Who are you?" he grumbling, glaring at Sakura.

"I'm Haruno Sakura," she quickly said to him. "So how did you break your arm, Child?"

"I was playing and fell out a tree. That's how all people break their arms."

"Who told you that?" Sakura laughed and the child raised his eyebrows at her. She cleared her throat. "Can I see your arm?"

Sakura leaned forward, holding her hand out for his arm. He reluctantly placed his limp arm in her hand, wincing at the slight pressure from placing his arm on Sakura's hand. Sakura pressed her index finger against his ulna, sending one single strand of chakra through her fingertips to find where the break was.

"This might—"

The boy's foot connected with Sakura's left eye, sending her to the ground in shock. "What was that for?" the boy cried, jumping off the table and punching Sakura in the gut.

"Is that how you want to play, Little Man?" Sakura bellowed, balling her hand into a fist.

"Sakura, ma'am, he's only a little boy," the nurse intervened, stepping in front of the boy. Sakura glared at the woman who pinched her eyes shut and waited for the fatal blow but Sakura just wiggled her nose and left the room, leaving the boy to cry and yell at the nurse.

* * *

"Damn," Shizune whistled, appearing behind Sakura, who leaned against the bathroom sink and examined the injury to her face. A dark purple circled under her left eye and a pinkish tint around her cornia, a damned black eye. Above her right eyebrow, she noticed a thin abrasion that started from the middle of her eyebrow and stretched to her temple.

"That kid's toenail scratched me," Sakura mumbled to herself as she took a wet paper towel and dabbed the dried blood from her eyebrow and temple.

"Ai told me about it, so I brought this." Shizune revealed a bag of frozen carrots. "Thanks to you storming out, I was the one who had to patch him up," she told Sakura with a distasteful frown.

"I freaking hate kids…a lot." Sakura babied her swollen eye with the carrots. "Ow," she whined with a sniff.

"I've never seen a child so ill behaved. I want to meet the parents of that child so I can teach them a thing or two about raising children!"

"You've never had kids, Shizune."

"I sure as hell know I can raise a child better behaved than Ryoichi!"

"I don't doubt it."

"Haruno Sakura, Haruno Sakura please report to Lady Hokage's office," the intercom announced. Sakura could hear the howls of "OH, what she do this time?" and a handful of tsk, tsks. When Sakura thought her day couldn't get any worse, she was called down to her boss's office which she knew sported no good news for her.

"Lady Tsunade," Sakura utter in monotonous tone, "you called for me?" Yeah, Sakura imagined Tsunade saying, you have a 92 hour shift ahead of you consisting of tedious physicals and patient check-ups; here is a coupon for all you can eat energy balls of disgustingness. Please enjoy.

"It's come to my attention that you have been working too much, sometimes even overtime," Tsunade said with her swivel chair turned away from Sakura. It reminded Sakura of a movie where the bad guy was sitting in his swivel chair and before he reveals his evil plan, he spins his chair around to face the protagonist.

On the subject of work, damn straight Sakura worked too much. Even as one of the top medics in the village, her status as a Chunin didn't help her pay. Sakura needed to pay for rent and food somehow. If only Tsunade gave her a few B-ranked missions, then Sakura wouldn't have financial worries.

"I can explain…"

"Starting today you're on a week leave, paid."

"Uh, pardon?"

"You're on leave, Sakura but before you go home to take a 72 hour nap, can you check on Ino at the falls? I hear she's doing something totally suicidal. Also, if she's not dead, thank her. She's the one that got you out of work. Oh, and Naruto."

Sakura bowed. "Thank you."

"Oh, Sakura."

"Yes, ma'am?"

"What happened to your face?"

Sakura's eyebrow twitched. "Nothing of importance. I'll go rescue Ino now."

* * *

"You're high," Sakura interjected, cutting off Ino's spiel on fantasy logic of aerodynamics. The rosette peered down the menacing waterfall below. She glanced back at her best friend who stripped down to her bra and underwear, carefully folding her clothes and placing them on the highest ledge of the rock they stood on. Sakura clicked her tongue, rolling her eyes. Ino should be worrying about her sanity instead of her stupid clothes.

"I am not high, Forehead. I'm being experimental."

"Half the things Kakashi says is complete bull. What makes you think he's being serious? He's just asking you to kill yourself in an inconspicuous way, but you're totally oblivious to the fact _and_ you're not going to realize that until your brains are splattered on the rocks at the bottom of this thing." Sakura peeked over the ledge but quickly looked away, shivering at the frightening height of the waterfall. She could feel her stomach flipping nervously and she wasn't the one that decided to jump off it with a poorly made paper Mache hang glider.

It was an obvious fact that Ino was, in fact, going to die in… T-minus: ten minutes.

"His explanation made sense," Ino countered as she lifted the homemade hang glider. "You'll be in complete awe when you see me gliding in the air."

"You'll be in complete awe when you're dead. I'm giving you one last warning, so when you do die, you can't haunt me for not warning you about your impending death. Ino, _you are going to die." _

Ino rolled her eyes and scoffed at her best friend, "Don't you have people to save from a slow and painful death or broken bones to fix?"

"Yeah, that's why I'm here. I'll have to do full body reconstruction if you jump."

"You sound like I'm about to commit suicide."

"You are."

Sakura not only blamed Kakashi for this, but she blamed peace among the nations. Now that there is peace, there's no need for assassination missions or guarding missions. Guarding missions are more like tourist guide missions and assassinations don't even exist anymore! To Sakura, it seemed like A-ranked missions consist of tasks meant for D ranked missions, and D ranked missions are now an imaginary letter that comes after Z. So, due to lack of missions and action, things like unintentional suicide (i.e., Ino) happen or shit just happens (i.e. Ino again).

It was a vicious circle. First, there are no good missions, so people like Kakashi have loads of time to let their minds wander, and they tell people like Ino one of their wanderings, and then people like Sakura are at the scene of a potential suicide/murder. Those people like Sakura are then locked up in chains because they are wrongly convicted of homicide. Then those like Kakashi continue to spread their horrible ideas and those like Sakura who are in their right mind can't stop it because they're behind bars. And people like Ino continue to die because they listen to people like Kakashi's theories.

"Ino, I refuse to save your life if you jump."

"That's a bit selfish don't you think?" Ino asked with a playful smirk. She stood at the edge of the waterfall and glanced down at her impending doom—she just didn't know at the time. Taking a deep breath, she lifted a foot off the rock but after taking another glance, Ino looked back at Sakura and grinned. "You know what I changed my—" Her foot slipped and Ino tumbled along the waterfall with her shitty hang glider wrapped around her waist and a huge hole already in the gliders.

Sakura leaned over the edge and reached for Ino's foot but missed her by a hair. "Damn it, Ino," Sakura hissed, ready to jump in for her when an unsuspected weight crushed Sakura into the rock for a quick second. The black clad figure disappeared into the rushing water and before Sakura could blink, Ino hung in the trees with her crappy glider still in her grasp.

"I flew, Sakura, I flew!" Ino wailed.

Sakura eyes flew in the direction of the person in black. He stared back at Sakura from the opening of the forest, leaning against a tree. Noticing Sakura's gaze, he vanished into the trees.

"Sa-ku-ra!" Ino sang.

"No, you didn't. Someone saved your ass from certain death…. I could've done that," she scoffed. "Are you all right?"

"Yeah, there are a few bruises here and there, but I think I'll be all right."

"Internal bleeding?"

"Hopefully not."

"Check in at the hospital and have them run tests. I have to go yell at someone."

* * *

Sakura stormed through the town, thinking of all the places the bastard would be but despite checking _all_ his hiding places, he was nowhere to be found. Sakura noticed Bridal's Boutique, a bridal store full of wedding dress, yukatas, kimonos and a range of beautiful bridesmaid dresses. There was a rise in marriages that summer, even among the shinobi who were told it was better to not marry due to the uncertainty of their occupation. Were the shinobi wedding because war was no longer a talk amongst the town and they could live in happiness and matrimony?

"Hey, Sakura." Sakura grinned; just the person she wanted to beat.

"Ino almost killed herself because of you."

Kakashi waved a hand and chuckled. "There's no reason to commit suicide over me, but I take it as flattery. Ino could always just come over to my place and share her thoughts of undying love for me."

"She took the hang glider idea into consideration."

"Everyone knows you'll just drop."

"Yeah?" Sakura socked her ex-sensei in the chest. "Tell that to Ino."

"Nah, but you are more than welcome to tell me about your adventure over a drink?"

Sakura punched Kakashi again, earning an _oof _from him. "You only want someone to dump the check on, you low life!" She knew this silver haired man's antics and tricks like the back of her hand. "You can tell me how that mission went, though."

Kakashi glanced over his shoulder, his eyes creasing. Sighing, he placed a hand on Sakura's shoulder and guided her down the street. "Let's walk and talk?"

"All right." Sakura peered over her shoulder, wondering why the man kept peeking over his shoulder every so often. "What's this I hear about Cloud?"

"No clue. They were rogue shinobi. Intel says they were members of the group that attempted to kidnap Hinata fourteen years ago, but no one thinks that piece of information is relevant. Naruto, Sai and I caught them on the border of the Fire Nation."

"They couldn't be after the Byakugan."

Kakashi shrugged. "If they were, it'll be their fault Konoha would cut ties with Kumo. They're in interrogation with Ibiki, so we'll have answers very soon."

"Huh. Was all this classified?"

"Yep, don't tell anyone."

Then he disappeared in a cloud of smoke. Sakura stomped her foot. "Kakashi!"


	2. Anonymity

**2. Anonymity**

* * *

Vacations sucked. Sure, the fact that Sakura could laze in bed and do nothing all day was great but as she stared at her ceiling fan, she preferred working to her white walls. Despite sitting in bed, contemplating her plans for her free day and being terrifying bored, Sakura did appreciate sleeping in. She couldn't get enough of that wonderful, foreign thing called sleep!

However, now that she was awake—Sakura glanced over at her clock and groaned at seven-thirty glowing from her nightstand—what was she going to do?

Sakura rolled out of bed and willingly flopped to the floor with blanket and pillows piled on top of her. She tossed the pillow to the side. Oh, what a nice point of view. Sakura never had time to look at her room from the floor. With a pleasant groan, she stretched her arms and legs, enjoying the crack of her joints and the ease of her muscles. Then, she lay there, staring at her ceiling.

Day one of vacation and it already sucked.

* * *

The phone echoed through her apartment as the clock struck ten past noon, waking Sakura from her midmorning slumber. Even in her half awake, half-asleep state, Sakura knew exactly who called. No one else called her; they usually barged in through the front door and if they really wanted to piss her off, the window.

Sakura crawled over to her nightstand and fished for the phone, unwilling to push her body off the ground. Once she found it, she grabbed the phone and the cradle down and plumped her head back down on her pillow. "Hey, Dad," she muttered, stifling a yawn and rubbing the tired out of her drooping eyelids.

He always breathed too heavy into the phone, a hoarse sounding thing like he was congested or something. Her father cleared his throat and they continued to sit in silence before he said, "Hi, baby girl. How's my Sakura doing?"

Sakura inwardly scorned her father, knowing he had his puppy dog look on his face at full force even if she couldn't see him. After years of putting up with it, she managed to look past his matching emerald eyes that looked so gently, watery, and so puppy-like. His eyes would make anyone give in to his needs but not her, oh no!

"I'm doing all right," she answered sweetly. "I just got a week break, so I'm kinda excited. What have you been doing? I haven't heard from you in a while." Mainly because he spent all his time in bars and casinos and the only time he ever showed his face or called Sakura was when he needed money. This had to be one of those times.

"Good, good. I've been doing good," he said, his voice raspy. "Um, would you want to come over for dinner some time?" The question stilled Sakura for a second. She raised her brows and looked at the phone. He was probably too hung over to notice the silence.

"Yeah, just tell me when, Pops," she responded, a bit too suspicious sounding than she wanted but again, she didn't think her father would notice.

"Sakura!" Naruto shouted as he rammed through the door and only stopped when he flipped over her couch. "Sakura, I need you!"

"How does tomorrow night sound?"

Sakura pressed a finger to her lips and glared at Naruto who was sucking in air for his next belch. She covered the talking piece with a hand and sneered, "Naruto, I'm on the phone. Shut your face!" To her father, she nodded and said, "Yeah, Dad, sounds perfect."

"Okay, great. I'll be on my way now, baby girl."

Sakura only smiled and waited for the dial tone to ring in her ear before setting the phone back in its cradle and turning her deadly attention to Naruto. He now sat on his couch, arms crossed and whistling a nameless tune. She wasn't surprised to see him here since she did—now, regretting it—give him a spare key on the condition that he cleaned up his mess and didn't clog the shower drain anymore.

"Is your shoulder okay?" Sakura questioned halfheartedly, squeezing the shoulder and hoped that it wasn't healed just yet.

"Totally fine," he responded with a grin. "Oh, yeah, that feels good."

Sakura stopped her ministrations. "Good. I'm glad," she said through tight, disappointed lips.

"I got a mission today. To Grass, I think."

"Classified?"

"Yup."

"Ask Hinata out yet?"

"Nope."

"Huh, you're here for something important?"

Naruto shrugged. "Eh."

"Kakashi?"

"Threw out his back."

"Right," Sakura sighed and began to gather her keys. "Come on."

Kakashi's apartment was two blocks away from Sakura, so she could easily jump over five roofs and come crashing through his window like usual but today since he decided to ruin her vacation with all this medical stuff, she decided to walk. Inevitably, though, Naruto complained about taking too long and being too slow.

Outside their former teacher's door, they could hear two bickering voices from beyond the door. She knocked and opened it—he always kept it unlocked no matter how many times she lectured him about being robbed.

"Pakkun, your weight isn't making anything better," she heard Kakashi hiss from somewhere in his living room. Sakura tiptoed and peeked over the couch to see Kakashi spread out on the floor with bags of peas flattened on his back and his trusty sidekick lying across them. "You're hurting me—get off!"

Pakkun snorted. "Pain is for the weak. Suck it up, bitch!"

"Who's the bitch!" Kakashi snarled, glancing over his shoulder to glare at the pug but instead made eye contact with Sakura. His glare changed to the eye crinkling smile she knew. "Oh, Sakura, what a pleasant surprise."

Sakura rolled her eyes and crouched next to Kakashi. She shooed the pug off his back and pulled his frozen veggies off his back. "Don't act like you didn't send for me. I'm on vacation, you know."

"Oh," he mocked interest. "Finally?"

Sakura ignored his question. "What did you do exactly?"

Naruto, who planted his bum on the couch next to Pakkun, snickered. "Old man threw his back out. Maybe it's time you retired, Grandpa."

"Thirty is not old," Kakashi groaned, rolling his uncovered eye.

Sakura ran a hand down the man's back. He shivered at the touch but continued to lie there with his book of erotica in hand. She pressed her fingertips in his lower back, causing him to lurch up and groan. "Did that hurt?" Sakura half teased.

"Not at all," Kakashi huffed. "But I do advise you not to do that again."

"Note taken," she laughed.

Sakura sat back on her bum and eyed Hatake's back, noting the dimples on his lower back, his narrow hips and waist and the wiry muscles lined across his shoulders. Sakura couldn't ignore the faint scars etched into his skin from the years of service as a shinobi. Taking her index finger, she pressed against a knot in his lower back, earning a painful hiss from Kakashi.

"Your muscles are tense. I suggest a massage…from Naruto," Sakura added quickly when Kakashi peeked over his shoulder, a broad grin outlined underneath his mask. "Those knots are huge, Kakashi."

"At least something about him his huge," Naruto snorted.

"No one has time for your stupid jokes, Naruto. Rub your sensei's back."

"That's so—"

"Helpful that you're going to aid an old friend?"

"Guys, thirty really isn't that old…."

Naruto and Sakura switched places. After cracking his knuckles and doing some fingers exercises, Naruto plopped a seat on Kakashi's rump and began to dig his fingers into his teacher's skin, causing the silver haired man to yelp in pain.

Ignoring Kakashi's plea for help, Sakura leaned her head back on the couch and scratched Pakkun behind the ear. It was going to be a long day.

* * *

The chatter in the restaurant sounded like a bee buzzing in Sakura's ear, which was downright annoying and she had to resist slamming her glass over her head to drown out the noise for a few seconds. However, Sakura managed a smile on her face as she engaged in the conversation at the dinner table. The other kunoichi, Ino, Tenten and Hinata had dinner every other weekend. It was a time for them to gossip and catch up since everyone was so busy with their Jounin lives.

Since her father planned to retire in a couple years, Ino has taken a hitch to working at Intel and learning new techniques while attempting to train her new Genin, just two weeks fresh to be exact. Tenten planned to join the ANBU ranks, which consisted of too many psych tests, endurance and jutsu tests along with meeting a quota of a certain number of A-ranked missions before a date—Sakura's head hurt just thinking about all that work. Hinata was Hinata, a new Jonin and on her way to becoming the heir to her clan.

"I haven't been on a date in a while," Ino hummed, looking disappointedly at her empty drink cup. She tilted it, the ice cubes toppled over each other at the action. "There's a new guy at Intel—I may give him a ride or two."

"Whatever happened to Shikamaru…or was it Kiba that you were seeing?" Tenten asked. "You bounce between those two so many times I always lose track."

"They found out about each other," Ino grumbled, pouting. "So obviously that can't happen anymore. I need to find someone new, someone who has as much energy and stamina as Kiba and is a silent lover like Shikamaru. If only I could mush them into one person…"

Tenten laughed. "I highly doubt a man like that exists. Hinata, how are you and Naruto?"

Hinata smiled and a light blush came over her cheeks. "Nothing has happened," she sighed. "For a second I thought he would confess himself but he suddenly became very sick and ran off." Sakura held a chuckle. Naruto, nervous? That couldn't have happened! "Tenten, has Neji been behaving?"

"Eh?" Tenten cleared her throat and ran a hand over her buns resting on the top of her head. "He, uh, rejected me," and with that, she hung her head, her forehead banging against the table and making their dishes jump up. Ino caught her glass that threatened to teeter over.

"I'm sorry," Hinata said as she placed a hand on Tenten's back. "May I could talk—"

"No!" Tenten shouted, making Sakura jump a bit. "I'll talk to him…"

The table fell silent as Hinata consoled Tenten in whispers, leaving Sakura and Ino out of the conversation. Ino didn't looked to upset over the fact that she was kicked out; she looked bored, eyeing the ice cubes in her drink with her head propped in her hand.

"What's going on with you, Sakura?" Ino mumbled. She grinned at her pink haired friend with mischievousness glinting in her eyes. "We didn't get a chance to catch up yesterday. Any boys that tickle your nipple—what happened to your freaking face?" This question caught Tenten and Hinata's attention, for their gazes shot up to Sakura's slowly flushing face.

"Some kid kicked me in the face," Sakura uttered quickly, self-consciously covering her black eye from all the gazes it attracted. "Let's do back to your dry spell, Ino. How's that been treating you?"

"How has _your_ dry spell been treating _you_?"

"W-We're here to have a good time!" Hinata intervened, setting down her drink with more force than needed, which was uncharacteristic for the quiet Hyuuga but as of lately, Sakura noticed more assertiveness and confidence in the girl. She flushed as the girls stared at her questioningly. "Eh-h, Ino, how is your team doing? They're relatively new."

"Those brats...," Ino sighed. "I'm lucky Genma is there to help me out or I would have strangled them already. Seeing them makes me wonder if I was like that as a Genin and if Asuma-sensei"—Ino's expression fell for a quick second at the thought of her deceased teacher but she quickly picked up her expression with a small smile—"wanted to strangle me as much as I want to them. Other than that, though, they're good kinds; know how to kick ass and what not."

"I hate kids…." Sakura vehemently groaned.

The girls managed their good-byes after fifteen minutes of standing outside the restaurant, saying goodbyes and then remembering something they didn't discuss and discussing it or Ino bickering with Sakura or Tenten about something trivial like a piece of Tenten's hair was sticking up or Sakura's panty lines were showing.

When they did separate, Sakura walked the long way home, enjoying the cool summer breeze that wasn't present during the day and the glittering stars in the indigo night sky. She could still feel the moisture in the air, sticking to her skin like syrup but the breeze quickly cooled Sakura.

She walked through down the sidewalk, eyeing all the bars with spotty neon signs that said "OEN" instead of "OPEN" or "LOSED" instead of "CLOSED". Men thundered out of the bars in a drunken heat, sporting bloody lips or broken noses that she wouldn't mind fixing but she was on vacation—and she already had down her one good deed for the day with Kakashi's back.

Howls of laughter from one of the smaller bars that didn't have a lit sign but a flip sign with flyers taped to the windows instead of more signs that advertised what beer they served and their specials. Another hoot came from them followed by a crash as trashcans toppled over when a man tumbled into them.

Sakura crept close to the group of men surrounding the fallen man. In the dull light, she caught fair hair that looked matted from a long nap and creased gray eyes. This familiar face had blood smeared across his cheeks and more ran down his chin, dripping onto his sweat stained shirt.

"Excuse me," Sakura huffed as she hurried to the crowd and shoved her way through the smelly glob of men. She stood in front of the fallen man and faced the towering bullies that grinned down at her. "The hell do you think you are, huh?" she growled, rolling up her sleeves up to her elbows.

"How are you, huh?" one mocked. Grins shone at her. "Get out of the way, little girl."

Sakura gritted her teeth. She felt hands tickle her ankles and she took a second to look back at her father bowing at her feet. "Please, Sakura, go home."

"But, Dad—"

"_Dad_! Aw, is his wittle girl protecting her wittle daddy? How cute!"

"That's it—I'll kill you!"

Hands shot at her. She grabbed them and turned the body over her shoulder, knocking out another man. Before she could take her aggression out on the next, she heard fluttering whiz by her ear and a hand shoved her chest, knocking her down next to her father. In the dim light, she watched black knock the men down with just sandaled feet; his hands clutched to the hood, keeping it from falling off his head.

Just as the last thug fell to the ground unconscious, Sakura lunged forward, a hand reaching for the cloaked man but just as her fingertips touched the fabric, the man vanished.

"Dammit," Sakura mumbled before turning her attention back to her father who sat in the middle of trashcans, nodding off to sleep. "Dad," she whispered and walked over to him, picking him up and leaning him against her body.

"You didn't have to do that, Sakura honey."

Sakura smiled and began to walk towards the hospital. "I'll get you nice and healed, okay?"

"Sakura—"

"Dad, it's okay, really," she breathed hastily.

With her free hand, she grazed her fingertips across the Konoha insignia on her hitae-ate. So much for having a day off but as long as she wore her hitae-ate, she will always be serving the injured, the civilians and ultimately, Konoha.

* * *

**Please review and tell me what you think!**


	3. Spontaneous

**3. Spontaneous**

* * *

"Sakura, what are you doing here?"

With a groan and briefly noting a sharp pain shooting up her spine, Sakura rolled over to see a pair of hands resting on a pair of dark violet clad hips. The hands were dry and cracked, in some places pink from skin splitting open. Its fingers were long and slender, feminine. Sakura's jades drew up to see a soft, curious face. Clearing her throat, Sakura sat up in the hospital bed.

"Good morning, Shizune," Sakura mumbled, still obviously tired.

Shizune smiled. "Do you miss the hospital already?"

Sakura forced up a chuckle before pushing her sore body off the lumpy hospital bed—now she understood why bed-ridden patients were so cranky. The bed squeaked under the shift of weight. "No," Sakura said, "I was staying with my"—Sakura beckoned her head over to the empty bed that she thought hosted her father—"dad."

Shizune shifted her weight to her other foot uncomfortably. She began to pick at the skin on her hands as she waited for Sakura to say something.

There was a deep aching in her chest while looking at the untidy bed. Sakura didn't know if it was out of sadness or just mere disappointment. Her father frustrated her to the point of hair loss. She didn't know how many days she spent trying to help him climb out of the hole he's dug. Half those days, she spent tugging at her roots and contemplating jumping off a bridge out of spite.

Sakura didn't understand one bit why her father always ran away from her like this. It wasn't anything new. He ran when Sakura's twenty-two year old, pregnant mother asked him to marry her and didn't come back until she gave birth to Sakura. Her mother always said he didn't want to commit to her and stop his shinobi life—which Sakura knew quickly ended just after his rejection. When the hospital bill came, her mother said he disappeared once more.

It wasn't much of a surprise when her mother left him when Sakura moved out. Ever since, Sakura never contacted her mother and vice versa. Dad never asked about her. Then again, he never asked much at all besides the basic, "How are you" and "What is going on?"

Why did people reject help when they know it's for the best? Did he enjoy running away from money sharks on the daily? Did he enjoy drinking to the point of oblivion, wasting money he didn't have? Did he enjoy gambling the same nonexistent money? Was having an empty pocket a comforting feeling? Did the hole burning in his back pocket keep him warm and toasty at night? Sakura didn't understand!

She wanted to sit down and talk to him about it but he constantly ran away. She wanted to treat him to breakfast that morning but he ran. Sometimes Sakura wondered if he wanted to keep her in his life. Did he ask her to come over for dinner just to avoid a close burning of a bridge? He kept her on such a thin string; she wondered why _she_ wasn't the one to cut it.

"He must have something important to do. I'll go find him." Sakura jumped out of bed and brushed past Shizune without another word though all Sakura wanted to do was to hug Shizune and cry. But tears and hugs had to wait. Sakura needed to find her father and she had a feeling she knew where he was. Just joking, she didn't have one clue.

Sakura knew where to start. It may have been midday and perhaps an odd time to go for a drink but for her dad, all the time was the time to drink and gamble.

"Have you seen Kizashi around?" Sakura asked the bartender of her father's favorite bar and grill. At this hour, when school and work dismissed, families cluttered the tables and one or two shinobi sat at the bar with their tired heads hung low.

The bartender frowned at the mention of Kizashi. "No, haven't seen him around in a while."

"Not at all?"

"No but good riddance. He was wiping me out of all my booze."

Sakura didn't know how to respond. She was used to people bad mouthing her father but today of all days, she didn't know how to handle it. Instead of biting the bartender's head off with her fierce temper and possibly ill-chosen words, Sakura grabbed a mug and smashed it against the tabletop.

Glass sprinkled to the ground and just before the man behind the counter noticed what happened, she was out the door.

The sun hung low in the early evening sky. It began to set behind Hokage Mountain when Sakura entered the last bar she knew Kizashi, her father, regularly visited. Sakura huffed to herself in self-pity. Looking for her dad in casinos and bars wasn't the ideal way she wanted to spend her second day off.

Throughout the day, people usually recognized her as either the Hokage's apprentice (because she usually was the one called to care for the people stupid enough to fight) or Kizashi's daughter (because she was also the one called to make sure he returned home safe). It was the former usually.

Sakura shoved the door open with more force than necessary and winced when a bell jingled loudly upon her arrival, catching the patrons' attention for a brief second. The bartender, an attractive gal with tattoos covering her biceps, waved at her and shouted a hello. Sakura waved and stalked towards the counter, avoiding looks from the familiar faces. The last thing she wanted was a small talk conversation with someone she cared little for—as harsh as it sounded, Sakura was not in the mood for talk.

The bar began to fill as five o'clock hit. Shinobi and civilians cluttered the tables and barstools. With each passing moments, the sound of the place gave Sakura a numbing headache.

"How ya doin', hun?" the bartender asked. She carried a slight accent but Sakura couldn't place a finger on it. "Want anything to drink?"

Sakura shook her head. "Maybe later. I'm looking for someone named Kizashi; maybe you've seen him around. Tall guy with uh, my color hair—well, it's not really; it's more like raspberry sherbet color…uh…never mind," Sakura sputtered when the lady's eyes glazed over and Sakura realized she lost her attention.

A hand clapped her on the shoulder. With a fierce look, Sakura glanced over with a threat tickling her lips. A boy a few hairs shorter than her stared at her like he had something on his mind. He was on a mission—a mission to annoy the piss out of her. He looked about fifteen and wore a brand new, shiny vest—fresh out of the Chunin exams she assumed. His eyes held innocence and looked almost puppy-like. Sakura was in the kinds of moods that wanted to literally rip that look off his face.

"You're Haruno Sakura," he stated. The shake in his voice washed all assumption that he was looking for a fight or at least was a cocky, little bastard like most new Chunin, "I'm so bad ass" kids. The boy gulped down a nervous lump.

"Thanks for the reminder," she said in a bitter manner. Sakura brushed his hand away and turned to stalk out of the bar. His hand grabbed her elbow. She stumbled back and resisted the urge to punch him right between the eyes. "Look, I don't know what you want, but it's gonna have to wait!"

His hand dropped from her elbow and fell to his side. A smile twitched on his lips but after a second of fighting his anxious emotions, he settled for a stoic look but Sakura could tell he felt hesitant to say something just by the worried look in his eye.

Sakura sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose. "If you want to ask about studying under the Hokage, I'm really the wrong person to talk—"

"Kizashi is here," he said hastily; his words falling out of his mouth like rushing water. "Follow me," and just like that, he spun around and speed walked to the door leading into the kitchen. Sakura didn't have a problem catching up to him but it was still a pain in the ass.

The Chunin led her through the kitchen, which she took the time to admire how impeccably clean it was compared to other bars and restaurant kitchen she's seen. Two cooks chatted animatedly as Sakura and her little escort breezed through the kitchen and into the storage area of the pub.

"So where's my dad?"

The boy knocked on a door that read "Office" on the glass. He beckoned her over. Sakura could already her voices on the other side of the door.

"Dammit," a gruff voice sounded. It sighed. "Kizashi, it's been two months and you've racked quite a tab here. I gave you as much time you said you needed. Now, I need that money, Haruno."

Silence fell. It lasted a few long seconds before a weak, slurred voice responded, "I don't have the money." The words came slow and heavy like it was difficult for him to speak, or even breathe for the matter.

"I don't mind taking a few fingers, then. Maybe a hand. How about your daughter?"

A cold blade suddenly appeared across her neck. Her eyes flitted to the boy's face, which was half hidden by her shoulder. She could see that his teeth were clenched, eyes nervous and his hand that yielded the blade shook. Sakura smacked her lips and almost grinned when she heard his feet slide back against the hard wood floor.

"Endangering the life of a comrade?" She questioned and continued to watch the boy's internal battle with himself. Should he stay or should he run like hell before Sakura tore his hair out? When he stood his ground, Sakura frowned. "The Hokage will love to hear about this one."

Her hand found his wrist and expertly twisted his arm behind his back, causing him to drop the kunai. Sakura felt a twinge of guilt as he released a painful cry and her guilt grew tenfold when she slammed her elbow into the back of his head. She let go of the young boy and allowed him to drop to the floor without as much as a cushion to break his fall.

The door knob easily shattered at the hand of a chakra surged squeeze—Sakura really considered jiggle the door knob and possibly knocking but after what happened, she really just wanted to kick some ass. The door squeaked open and just as Sakura took a step, a kunai shot out of the dark room, taking a swipe for her face. Sakura stepped back and slammed the door as the blade came back for another try for her face. The point webbed the glass.

Sakura opened the door once again, ultimately dragging the person who yielded the blade. The older man desperately tried to yank the kunai for the glass but it didn't budge. "Who the hell do you think you are?" Sakura howled, grabbed the man's collar and backed him up to the wall despite her father's begging. Sakura glanced at her father.

Kizashi's wrists were cuffed to the table and from the scarlet ring of dried blood, Sakura knew he had been here a while. His fingers were spread out across the wood with a knife set between his hands. Kizashi gazed at his daughter through swollen, black eyes and a frown set on his bloodied lips as if he disapproved of Sakura's destructive behavior.

Sakura turned her attention back to the man cowering behind his hands. Her grip tightened around his collar and she could feel energy flowing into her right fist.

"I'm a ci-civilian! You can't hurt me!" the man cried. "I have rights!"

"Oh yeah?" Sakura challenged. "Last I checked the ability to use torture and attempting to use a man's daughter as a hostage to get what you want isn't included. Cute idea, though. Real movie villain like." Sakura dropped the man to his feeble knees.

With an irate sigh, she turned to her father only to see a man in black working on her father's cuffs.

"If you're a person who wants money, you're gonna have to deal with me!" she yelled as she launched her fist in his direction. He vanished, as well as her father, just as she thought she made contact.

"This is such a weird day," Sakura mumbled before running out of the bar.

* * *

Kizashi leaned against the building, rubbing his wrists and mumbling something to himself. "Hello, Sakura," he said rather cheerfully as if she did not just save his fingers and hands. "What are you doing here?"

Sakura noticed black flash across the rooftops. Her feet stepped towards the black cladded man, wanting to chase him and ask him why he has followed her.

"Go," Kizashi said, surprisingly sober. Had he faked it this whole time? His eyes were clear and coursed with acute adrenaline. "I'll be fine."

"Dad, you're hurt. I should get you home."

"You should go," he repeated sternly.

Her body and conscience pulled her in two different directions. Her body after the stranger, her conscience towards her father.

"C'mon, let's get you home."

"You really didn't have to walk me home, honey."

Sakura ignored her father; she was for the past hour while she chased him around the house trying to heal his wrists and face until now with him pinned under her.

"Sakura, talk to me."

"I don't understand," she mumbled. A bit louder, she said, "I don't understand how you can be so careless with your life. The alcohol is only going to kill your liver and you can only take so many beatings from those people."

Kizashi's lips twitched into a short-lived smile. "I'm being spontaneous. We live once, right? You don't have to worry about your old man."

"I can't just stop worrying. You're my dad."

"Unconditional love is a real bitch, huh?" He chuckled and closed his eyes when Sakura moved her green glowing hands to his face. If Kizashi's face wasn't damaged enough, Sakura would have punched him and hoped that knocked some sense into him.

"Love is love," Sakura sighed. "People do whatever they want when love's involved."

"People hurt others when it's involved."

Sakura pursed her lips and continued to heal his face. She knew who he referred to.

Kizashi took a deep breath and opened his eyes to look at his daughter hovering over him. He smiled. "You really can't trust anyone nowadays, can you?" he whispered, causing Sakura's hands to still. "If I told you how truly sorry I was, would you believe me?"

Would she? "I would."

Kizashi brushed her hands away from his face and sat up. "Leave, Sakura."

"But, I haven't—"

"Leave!"

Sakura rose, kissed her dad on the forehead and left him in his empty house, otherwise known as her childhood home. It's been about four years since she left and it pained her to see the drastic changes over the years. Her father neglected the flower boxes hanging on the windows; he neglected to dust, sweep and mop. He even sold majority of the furniture because money was tight. The house felt cold and didn't feel like a home anymore.

Sakura stood at the door and turned to her father who sat at the lone chair sitting at a table that could comfortably host two people. He stared at his wrist, which were now a pale pink and on their way to healing scar-free. His dull pink hair was matted and his bread was beginning to grow.

"I love you," she said before closing the door behind her.

* * *

"One more!" Ino and Sakura shouted simultaneously as they slammed their shot glasses on the table. Just the exertion of smashing the glass down made Sakura black out for a quick moment, causing her to fall sideways into Hinata's lap. Hinata squeaked in surprise while Ino belched out a howling laugh and ultimately collapsed the other way but Tenten was evil enough to slide out of her seat, allowing Ino to face plant into a wooden barstool.

"I think you two had too much to drink," Hinata said while awkwardly combing her fingers through Sakura's tangled hair. "We should go home and go to bed."

"No!" Sakura shot up into an upright position and ignored the nauseating spinning and the haziness in her vision. She scanned the room for her blonde drinking buddy. "Ino, wha' the 'ell you doin'?" she slurred, snatching Ino up by the back of her shirt. Ino's head bobbed to the side. "This is no time 'or sleeping!"

Ino opened her eyes and peeked through half-lidded eyes, dull aqua eyes staring up at Sakura. "Sakura," she sighed in a pity-me way. It sounded like she held back tears.

"Yes, Ino?" Sakura mimicked the tone, causing Tenten and Hinata to roll their eyes.

Sakura never drank until the point she was sloppy drunk, unable to tie her shoes or know the difference between up and down. She was the mother of her friends for a reason, always making sure no one died of alcohol poisoning, stubbed toes and jumping off any buildings or cliffs higher than two stories.

Tonight, however, was her night to drown out her sorrows and chug a glass or ten with her best friends—well, best friend because the other two decided to be their sober sisters for the night. She, also, was on vacation.

"I don't understand why everything is so stinkin' hard, ya know? All I want is a boyfriend, a nice, stable boyfriend. I don't want to go between two boys. I just want…one."

Sakura gazed at Ino with bright eyes as if Ino revealed the meaning to life or some very juicy gossip or invited her to an all fees paid shopping spree. "That's exactly what I was thinking!" she cooed—even though she really wasn't thinking about a boyfriend at all—and smacked her friend hard on the back.

Ino's mouth twisted. "Yeah, guess great minds thin' alike!" the blonde slurred, slapping Sakura on the back with just as much force as she did. Sakura coughed as her chest rammed into the edge of the table, not expectant that Ino would hit back.

"They really do!" Sakura smacked Ino back, making her body to bang into the table as well and tipping over her water cup. Water dripped down over the edge of the table, dropping cold drops into Ino's lap. Ino jumped up and swayed. She gained her balance on the wall.

"Is that how it's going to be, eh, Sakura?" Ino challenged, sloppily grinning at her friend.

Sakura hoisted herself to her feet and leaned against the wall, so close to Ino that they faced nose to nose, eyes crossed and both as dangerous as any drunken twenty-year-old could be.

Before an explosion of weapons and smoke could destroy the bar, Hinata and Tenten dragged the two kunoichi out of the building despite their pleas, complaints about ruining their make-ups and clothes and their threats about hanging upside down by their pinky toes.

Tenten swung the training ground gates opened and tosses Ino into the field, as did Hinata with Sakura. With an ear-piercing squeak that made Ino and Sakura's heads throb, Tenten closed the entrance and locked the chain around it. She turned around to look at the blonde and the rosette who struggled to stand on their feet. Tenten crossed her arms and with a stern look said, "Off with you two. Don't come back until you've sobered up."

Sakura and Ino glanced at each other. In a split second, they collided in a clumsy manner. Ino's movements appeared slower than usual to Sakura and her own were sluggish and heavy like she had weights strapped to every inch of her body. For a moment, while she watched Ino kick her leg back for the wind up, Sakura wondered how Lee mastered his Drunken Fist when fighting this drunk felt terrible and dizzying.

Ino failed with her kick, missing Sakura by a few arms' length. Ino wound back for a punch but ultimately fell backwards at the sudden action. Sakura laughed. From her periphery, she noticed a figure running across the clearing along the tree line with the moonlight catching a sliver of pale skin and navy blue clothing. Sakura's laugh cut short even as Ino rose to her feet only to fall down on her rump.

As soon as Sakura stepped towards the direction of the stranger, the man's attention hurtled over to hers and then he vanished into the trees. Sakura jumped over Ino's crumpled body and ran after him, disregarding that her head felt too heavy for her body and if she ran much longer, she'd collapse into the dirt head first.

The trees blurred into a screen of black and indigo blue. She didn't see the uprooted roots and the bushes that happened to crawl into her path of pursuit but no matter how often she fell, scraper her knees or face planted into the ground, Sakura pushed her body back up and continued to follow the man who quickly doubled the distance between the two of men.

Sakura stumbled out of the trees, her head feeling lighter and somewhat clearer after that devilish run through the woods. With haste, she pulled out the pieces of branches and who-knows-what else out of her hair and brushed off the mud from her rumpled clothes.

The stranger lurked in the shadows to her right, just close enough to see pale skin under the hood. "Who are you?" Sakura practically screamed as she advanced towards him. Her legs quivered under each step and eventually, they gave out, sending her to crumple in the grass. She sighed, exasperated. "You've followed me." When he didn't answer, Sakura stretched her legs out in front of her and eyes with disgust how horrifically she torn her legs. The numbness of the alcohol was dying and the stringing sensation of her grazes, bumps and bruises gradually began to set in.

The grass crunched. Sakura glanced over at the stranger. "You're bleeding," he said.

"Oh, Sakura," a familiar voice sang. Ino emerged from the trees with a kunai in her hand. It glinted a menacingly black in the moonlight. Sakura didn't catch the tag hanging from the handle until—with a devilish, drunken grin—Ino flung the blade at Sakura's feet. The alcohol still in her system didn't allow her to process the amount of danger that was about to happen, but arms wrapped around her and a dark fabric clouded her sight just as the earth began to shake.

* * *

"Never in my term as the Hokage have I gotten a call so vulgar and rude! _I _thought I had a filthy mouth but this woman took the fucking cake! Imagine my disappointment when I see that the culprits behind this were my apprentice, the heiress to the Hyuuga clan, Ino whom I know Asuma taught better than to be a hooligan and Tenten! I know Gai and the ANBU council will be thrilled hearing about this incident!"

The three young women recoiled at Tsunade's words. Sakura pursed her lips and stood her ground as her superior's honey eyes bore into her jades. Tsunade couldn't tattle tale to any one on Sakura because Tsunade was the one ultimately in charge of Sakura's behavior—ignoring the fact that Sakura was nearly twenty (as well as the three women behind her) and she could obviously care for herself.

Tenten dropped to the floor in a full-fledged bow. Her forehead bonked the hardwood floor with enough force to make Sakura wince in pain. "I'm begging you, Lady Tsunade; please overlook hits incident!"

Sakura sighed. Genma came to the grounds a few minutes after the explosion. Ino, knocked down by the blast of the explosion, covered in dirt and grass, was delirious and sputtered nonsense when Hinata and Tenten showed up with the older man. Sakura, also in a daze, sat on the opposite side of the clearing and the stranger vanished.

Ino and Sakura sobered up surprisingly fast when Genma announced that Tsunade would love an urgent meeting with the four. On the way to the office, Ino and Tenten cried and complained about being in trouble and sent to jail for disturbing the peace. Hinata remained characteristically quiet and she carried a gloomy air to her. Sakura kept quiet as well, mentally wining about the cuts on her legs that burned every time she took a step and that the fact that was so close to her stalker.

"And it's even more disappointing that alcohol was involved! If anyone is to consume too much alcohol _and_ fight, it's me…and Lee. Were any of you aware that you could have died while fighting under the influence? Are you four stupid? And who set off that bomb, huh? I want to know!"

Ino reluctantly raised a hand, her face downcast.

"And from what I understand, it was aimed at Sakura? You can be trialed for attempted murder if I so please to have you punished. If you had killed Sakura, you would end up in prison for life—not just any prison but in Grass where they hold the biggest, most fucked up criminals there. Since you're a shinobi, there is no gender when it comes to that place, do you understand me, Yamanaka? Death is more promising compared to that prison."

From her peripheral, Sakura saw Ino gulp.

"However, as this event didn't escalate to anything bigger and the Elders have yet to hear about it, you will all suffer a minor punishment that I see fit. I mean, no one died and you _only_ disrupted the peace…and ruined one of the training grounds.

"Ino, you are to serve desk duty at Intel for the next month, no jutsu, no missions, just paperwork. Hinata and Tenten, since you two didn't have much to do with it other than letting dumb and dumber into the grounds; I supposed you can be my assistances for the next two weeks, starting tomorrow—well, starting when you return Hinata." Sakura bit her cheek to suppress a laugh. She'd much rather serve desk work for a month than run Tsunade's errands and listen to her bitch—as much as she loved Tsunade, Sakura had enough while she was her full-time apprentice. "Also, you three will help Iruka clean up the entire academy after the school day for a month as well. Ino and Tenten, do not expect any missions for the time being. For your services, you will receive Genin pay every two weeks."

Tenten sucked in a sharp breath as if to protest but released a pitiful squeak instead. Ino scoffed and opened her mouth to say something and even stepped forward but as Tsunade cocked an eyebrow at the blonde, Ino zipped her lips and stepped into her place beside Sakura.

Tsunade's attention glanced over Sakura. She seemed to look past Sakura rather than at her. "Sakura, stay for a bit. I have further issues to discuss with you," Tsunade said monotonously. "The three of you are dismissed."

Sakura felt the wind as the three women quickly bowed and made a beeline for the door, kicking and shoving each other out of the way in order to leave the office first before Tsunade could place any more punishment.

Sakura mentally sighed and resisted rolling her eyes—and here comes Tsunade's crazy rampage. For a full minute, Sakura expected flying furniture, fire and curse words she didn't know existed but Tsunade sat still at her desk, hands folded and smoldering eyes staring like a very, very intimidating and pissed off statue.

"Sakura," she said calmly, making Sakura reflexively jump back, "is this how you're going to treat your vacation that I so willingly gave you?" Tsunade paused for a long while but Sakura remained quiet, frightened that the slightest peep from her could send her superior off into the deep end. "This upset is going to make me think twice about giving you another vacation in the future. But I do digress; at least you had fun."

Huh? "Lady T-Tsun—" Sakura was taken aback and all the alcohol she forgot she consumed made her waver a bit.

"I will end your vacation early. On Friday, report to the Northern Gates at six A.M for an extensive mission."

It took everything Sakura had not to drop to her butt in astonishment. Was she hearing her master right? Tsunade was sending her on a mission? Sakura didn't know whether it was reality or the drunk version of the world talking but either way, the words "extensive mission" were music to her ears. This couldn't be a punishment!

"Details will be sent with you so you can read them once you're in the right mind set."

"May I ask who I'll be with?"

"Shino and Hinata?"

"Aren't there four members?"

Tsunade nodded. "Of course." Just as she finished speaking and as if it was some cue, a figure dressed in black clad stepped into the office through the open window. He had long legs covered in sweatpants issued to all shinobi. His arms were bare, narrow and wired with thin muscles and white scars from battle. He was pale like he was sick with strong facial features, obsidian eyes and a hard pressed line for lips and coal black hair that resembled something close to a chicken's behind or a cockatiel.

"I'm sure you're acquainted with Uchiha Sasuke, Sakura."

* * *

**Thank you for reading!  
Have a fantastic day!**


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